Problems, well wishers and gifts in that order

THERE are certain very interesting notes and quotes that Mayawati uses in her book to describe herself as a missionary and the Bahujan Samaj Party as a movement. Explaining the purpose of writing the book as ?Taki zamana hamein jaan va samajh sake (so that the people could know and understand us)?, she deftly touches certain sensitive subjects also like the hullabaloo over her property and her relations with her mentor Kanshi Ram.

indiaUpdated: Jan 25, 2006 01:03 IST

Sunita Aron None

THERE are certain very interesting notes and quotes that Mayawati uses in her book to describe herself as a missionary and the Bahujan Samaj Party as a movement. Explaining the purpose of writing the book as ‘Taki zamana hamein jaan va samajh sake (so that the people could know and understand us)’, she deftly touches certain sensitive subjects also like the hullabaloo over her property and her relations with her mentor Kanshi Ram.

On her property
‘I bought my first house in Delhi after my father had shown me the door. I had paid for it from my own savings from my seven-year-long service. Initially, I was staying in Kanshi Ram’s rented room with my brother as he was spending most of his time touring the country. But people with polluted minds started a dirty campaign. Thereafter, I decided to buy my own house. Later when I became MP, I was allotted a bungalow. I gifted the house that I bought to my niece, who served me. I inherited my grandfather’s property, which I sold to buy some agriculture land. I wish to talk about it here so that people from Bahujan Samaj do not get misled. I am proud of my Bahujan Samaj who never allowed me to face any financial crunch. I sold off the agriculture land and deposited the money in my account.

However, when I started facing accommodation problem in Delhi after becoming UP CM, some of my well wishers bought land, gifted me along with some money to save me from financial problems. I want to know, “How can I be blamed if some of my well wishers gift me land or money? But manuvadi parties raise these issues to defame me in Bahujan Samaj. As far as my parents or my relatives are concerned, how am I involved if they start their business from money gifted to them by their well wishers . Whatever I have is recorded with the Income Tax department.”

How she is different from others
Neither have I got power in legacy nor it has been bestowed on me by any destiny; success to me has come from my sheer hard work and determination. I fully believe that success comes neither free nor it is automatic. People want to know how my politics is different from other Dalit leaders in the country. The straight answer is that it is the same difference that people had seen in Ambedkar’s politics of sacrifice and devotion with power politics of Babu Jagjivan Ram.

On relations with Kanshi Ram
Kanshi Ramji is my guru. He is elder to me. I have his blessings. Both of us had to struggle hard as we did not get politics in legacy. In his sickness people say that a son can’t take care of his father as much as I am doing.

Who will inherit her mantle?
No problems at all. I meet my family members and relatives only once in a year, on my birthday. I keep them away from politics so no one can accuse me of parivarvaad . Just as Kanshi Ram announced me his successor, at the right time I will also declare my successor.

On Mulayam and Kalyan Singh
Mulayam describes himself as Lohiavadi and Gandhivadi but the world knows that he is neither of the two, both in his behaviour and action. He is angry because despite best of his efforts he remains national president of a state level party. Like Mulayam, another leader from UP is also jealous of me. The simple reason being that his party’s graph is decreasing as our party’s graph is increasing. The most interesting aspect is that I have become ‘ Maharani’ (in Mulayam’s words) after defeating these two subedars of Bahujan Samaj.

On ‘ Swabhiman Diwas’
Manuvadi parties, which have never protested use of government funds for celebration of Nehru’s birthday as Children’s Day or that of Choudhary Charan Singh’s as Kisan Diwas can’t tolerate when birthday of a ‘ Dalit ki Beti’ is celebrated as ‘ Swabhiman Diwas’.

The book gives solid directions to the Bahujan Samaj on how to protect themselves during elections.